MSI Announces Slider S20 Ultrabook Convertible
by Jarred Walton on January 4, 2013 12:58 PM ESTNext week kicks off CES 2013 in Las Vegas, and I along with many of the other AnandTech editors will be present. Prior to the actual start of the show, however, we see a ton of new product announcements. One of the more interesting laptops coming to the show is MSI’s new Slider S20 Ultrabook. I recently gave a quick rundown of the various tablet/hybrid options for Windows 8 laptops, so the S20 now joins the list.
We’ve seen sliders before—mostly in the Android tablet space, but more recently in the Sony VAIO Duo 11. MSI’s S20 doesn’t appear to add anything radically different from others, but the specifications look good: you get a 1080p touchscreen with 10-point tracking (hopefully IPS, but that’s not specifically stated in the press release), 8GB DDR3 memory (huzzah! Take that all you 4GB non-upgradeable Ultrabooks!), 128GB SSD, and a Core i5 CPU. Other features include two USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, 802.11n and Bluetooth (Intel 6235), mini-HDMI, and a 720p webcam. The S20 weighs in at 2.2 pounds (1kg) and carries an MSRP of $1200, with expected availability in Q1 2013.
Source: MSI PR
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kyuu - Friday, January 4, 2013 - link
All the specs sound great... until you reach the $1200 price tag. All these neat concepts like the Yoga and these sliders are going to have a hard time catching on as long as they command such a huge price premium.headbox - Sunday, January 6, 2013 - link
Oh I'm sure they will sell hundreds of these!niva - Sunday, January 6, 2013 - link
OK, seriously, when will complaints stop about stuff like this? This product isn't even out yet and we've got complaints about MSRP. I would like to take one for free but until competitive hardware arrives at lower prices they'll charge high. If this thing came with a $800 price tag it wouldn't have the ram, the 128GB SSD. When it comes out the prices will probably be lower though not by much right away.Zak - Saturday, January 5, 2013 - link
I also wonder how sturdy those sliders are. How long will that last before breaking or getting gunked and jammed?Roland00Address - Saturday, January 5, 2013 - link
Why get this instead of the sony?The sony has which the msi doesn't
active wacom digitizer
light up keyboard
the option of a sheet battery
The msi has 8gbs of ram instead of 4 for the same price.
The sony also has an 8gb of ram model for 1500 besides more memory you get a larger ssd (256gb) and the i7 processor (which has ctdp up to 25w).
Finally the sony is on the market now not months from now.
elmicker - Saturday, January 5, 2013 - link
There's a very Windows Vista-esque start button in those pictures. Are MSI bundling a shell restyle?Beenthere - Sunday, January 6, 2013 - link
Over-priced toys for the clueless. Not to worry if it breaks in a couple months as the clueless will buy another. That is what the marketeers of this crap count on for enough sales.FiveOhFour - Sunday, May 26, 2013 - link
the clueless....you mean those people wealthier than you. That is your critique of this product essentially, that you can't afford it. How sad, dont let that inspire you to make more money, let it instill hatred towards those who do instead. PERFECTPenti - Sunday, January 6, 2013 - link
I never understood this model since it doesn't have any mouse/trackpad/trackpoint input at all. It doesn't have any wacom/n-trig pen (stylus) support either. Which means you must have an external mouse to use it at all. While at first look the mechanism and exposed cable of the Sony Duo 11 looks awful I don't know why you wouldn't choose the Sony over this. At least it has a trackpoint and it has stylus support, it's more configurable too, these devices are to large and has too poor software support to be used as an hand-held touchscreen (fingers) tablet any way. The slightly old X203t wins over these poor attempts at Tablet PC's any day still. Fujitsu also has some nice ones. Dell and HP hasn't updated their Tablet PC's for a long while but you have at least been able to get HP's and Dell's with second gen Core iX-processors. There is really no reason to lack stuff like wacom/n-trig active digitizers, DisplayPort support or any mouse input at all on these machines.If I want touch it's because of productive or creative work/use right? To be able to draw, make notes, or use for special applications where I can input by pen, right? If I want thin and light, all around computing, maybe dock it into a high-res monitor why would I look at these poor attempts that fails to commoditize the technology? Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 does wacom just fine here. It also does cost less than half of what the Sony Vaio Duo 11 comes in at. That model can be configured with 256GB SSD, 8GB of ram (soldered), and W8P without have to bother to upgrade via Microsoft. That costs three times as much but stuff in the 600-1200 dollar range can't even compete with Android devices here.